Lateness

What is a "late" and what to do if your child is late

The school day starts on the playground when the children say their morning prayer.  Children need to be sitting at their desk and ready to start when the register is taken otherwise they will be marked as late. Please note that if the register has already been taken by the teacher then your child  will be registered as absent.  This is why it is essential that if your child is late, they come to the school office to be signed in so that we can update our register accordingly and can order your child a school meal (if applicable).  This will also prevent us contacting you to find out where your child is! If your child has not already gone into class, they can then go straight to their class or be accompanied to their classroom by a member of staff if they are not confident to do so independently. Reception children are always accompanied to class.

The impact of being late

Please be aware that, whilst 5 minutes' lateness here and there may not seem to be that important, the statistics show that:

         5 minutes late per day = 3 days learning lost per year
         15 minutes late per day = 10 days lost per year
         30 minutes late per day = 19 days lost per year

Missing the start of the day means that your child can be affected both academically and socially.  Academically they may miss part or all of their phonics, literacy or maths session which means that they have to work extra hard to catch up or may need extra adult support.  Socially, it can be hard to arrive after everyone else - children like to feel the same as their friends, but if they frequently arrive at a different time to their friends it can be very unsettling for them. This, teamed with having to work extra hard to catch up on missed work, means that children are not in the best position to get the most from their time in school.

Persistent unauthorised lateness could result in the issue of a penalty notice against parents/carers. 

Tips for getting your child to school on time

We understand that with younger children in particular, things can happen which result in lateness.  However, when we see frequent lateness, then we would like to encourage you to address any issues that are causing the lateness.

Some of our top tips are:

• Make sure children go to bed early enough to ensure they are rested and are then ready to get up on time and start the day.
• Set your alarm clock 10 minutes earlier to avoid the last minute rush.
• Have everything ready the night before:  set out children's clothes so they are ready to get dressed; make sure bags are ready and waiting by the door.
• Anticipate delays - are there roadworks? Is it refuse collection day?  If you know it is going to be more difficult to travel to school on a particular day then allow extra time to account for this.

We appreciate your cooperation in this important part of school life.